A turret of burned Russian tank is left abandoned after the Ukrainian army attacked it the previous day near the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, February 25, 2022. Sergey Kozlov, EPA-EFE/File
WASHINGTON, United States - The United States announced Tuesday it will send $100 million in additional anti-armor weapons to Ukraine.
"I have authorized, pursuant to a delegation from the President earlier today, the immediate drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $100 million to meet Ukraine’s urgent need for additional anti-armor systems," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
He added that the "world has been shocked and appalled by the atrocities committed by Russia’s forces in Bucha and across Ukraine."
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, in a separate statement, said that the extra funding would be used "to meet an urgent Ukrainian need for additional Javelin anti-armor systems."
Ukrainians have been using the shoulder-launched missiles "so effectively to defend their country," he noted.
An Ukrainian serviceman operates with NLAW anti-tank missile system at the Yavoriv military base in western Ukraine, 28 January 2022, close to the border with Poland. The first group of Ukrainian servicemen is finished training for the use of British NLAW light anti-tank missiles. Great Britain started supplying the anti-tank systems on 18 January 2022 amid escalation on the Ukraine - Russia border. EPA-EFE/MARKIIAN LYSEIKO
On April 1, the Pentagon announced an extra $300 million in military assistance.
Kirby said the latest tranche brought the US military aid to Ukraine to "more than $1.7 billion since the beginning of Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked invasion on February 24," and more than $2.4 billion since the beginning of US President Joe Biden's term in office.
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